Rarely it takes a long time these days, but the whispers have started again at Manchester United.
Ruben Amorim has only 20 games in his reign in Old Trafford, but, like Mail Sport, he revealed this week, some of his players already wonder among them if a plan change could be in order.
The Portuguese chief remains married to the 3-4-2-1 formation that treated him so well in Sporting Lisboa but, so far, does not work.
Amorim arrived in Old Trafford as the perfect antidote for the discomfort Erik Ten Hag. A young and exciting coach with clear and fresh ideas, who obtained great success in Sporting Lisboa, instead of unpinal and rigid football that became the norm under the Dutchman. Only has worsened.
Amorim has won only nine games so far and only four have arrived in the Premier League. There are no united manager since Sir Alex Ferguson won less of his first 20. He has won the same as Ralf Ranggnick. Ten Hag won 13.
Only the Rangnick team gathered fewer goals. His 32 admitted goals are at least eight more than anyone and 14 more than David Moyes and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. None lost as many as the eight defeats suffered under Amorim.
Ruben Amorim has had trouble getting the best of his players since he arrived in Man United
Red demons have found a particular difficulty in finding the background of the network under Amorim
| Manager | W | D | L | F | TO | Win percent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ole Gunnar Solskjaer | 15 | 2 | 3 | 42 | 18 | 75 |
| Erik Ten Hag | 13 | 2 | 5 | 32 | 24 | 65 |
| David Moyes | 12 | 5 | 3 | 38 | 18 | 60 |
| José Mourinho | 11 | 4 | 5 | 33 | 20 | 55 |
| Louis van Gaal | 10 | 6 | 4 | 33 | 23 | 50 |
| Ralf Rangnick | 9 | 8 | 3 | 28 | 20 | 45 |
| Ruben Amorim | 9 | 3 | 8 | 31 | 32 | 45 |
| Alex Ferguson | 8 | 7 | 5 | 25 | 17 | 40 |
Worse than ten hag?
Ten Hag won just over half of his Premier League matches in charge. Amorim has lost just over half of his. Ten Hag lost approximately one in three. Amorim wins approximately one in three.
Amorim's United takes much less shots, scores fewer goals and grants more goals.
They try more passes but touch the ball less where it matters, in the opposition box. Since Amorim took over, only the last three and Everton current have scored fewer goals from the League.
The last manager of United to win less of his first 20 games in charge was Ferguson himself, which, at least, could give Amorim the hope that even the greatest managers need time to change it.
However, the problem is that it is not just about results and this package of bad numbers. United the struggles reflect deeper tactical problems with the love approach.
Amorim will not change his formation of three on the back even though his team lacks the players to prosper in their most vital positions.
There is an argument that Erik Ten Hag was getting more from United players
| By game pl | Ten hag | Amorim |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | 1.4 | 1.2 |
| Shots | 15.0 | 12.7 |
| In the objective | 5.4 | 4.1 |
| Objectives granted | 1.3 | 1.7 |
| Confrontated shots | 14.7 | 10.8 |
| In the objective | 4.6 | 4.1 |
| Passes | 490.5 | 527.2 |
| Touches in the box | 28.9 | 27.3 |
A broader problem
The most crucial role in your system is your wing. They provide the width in the attack so that the two not 10 behind the striker as Bruno Fernandes can cause opponents of the central areas and the channels.
Amorim also wants them to turn at the top of the field.
United simply does not do it well enough. Diogo Dalot progresses, at least, but he is a player of the right side to the right stuck to the left. Luke Shaw is always injured.
Naussair Mazraoui on the other flank does not advance close enough. As the launch is mapping since the arrival of Amorim, it has a much lower percentage of its touches in the middle of the opposition and just none in the final third.
Neither of them is involved enough for a team that depends so much on their savings. Among all the defenders of the Premier League since the arrival of Amorim, neither Dalot nor Mazraoui , where a player moves significantly closer to the opponent. goal.
The 17 Mazraoui passes in the box at that time are four less than West Ham Aaron Cresswell's defender, who has started three league games throughout the season and all in the return center.
Each one has created only six Open Play opportunities for Amorim, together 30 among the defenders of the Premier League at that time. Nor has a single league goal or assistance under the new boss.
The hope is that the firm of £ 25 million in January Patrick Dorgu will add quality and depth to that position, but Amorim admitted that it seemed nervous in its debut against Leicester in the FA Cup and was uploaded to part -time.
He did not help Dorgu to be a player on the left side and Amorim began to the right with Dalot, who likes to play right, on the left.
Wingbacks Diogo Dalot (Left) and Noussair Mazraoui (right) simply do not do it enough
| PL under love | Divider | PL defenders range | Mazraoui | PL defenders range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passes in the middle of the opposition | 284 | = 20º | 264 | 25 |
| Go to the box | 34 | 15 | 17 | = 45º |
| Created Open Game Possibilities | 6 | = 30 | 6 | = 30 |
| Progressive races | 81 | = 21 | 74 | 29 |
| Goals | 0 | = 34º | 0 | = 34º |
| Assistance | 0 | = 42nd | 0 | = 42nd |
A central concern
The other area that United needs to fix is in the center of the field. Manuel Ugarte is the winner of the United ball, as it was for Amorim in Sporting, but it is the all -terrain dynamic next to him what the manager is fighting to find.
Kobbie Mainoo carries the ball well, but lacks physicality to dominate and Amorim recently admitted that he was “fighting a lot defending as a midfielder.” Since then he has played it as a 10 and an impromptu striker against Crystal Palace.
Casemiro and Christian Eriksen no longer have the legs or resistance for paper. Fernandes played there in the defeat of the Palace, but often left his man free to wander for the lawn of Old Trafford as he wanted.
Amorim needs someone who can wear the ball forward, lead to space when Fernandes deviates from high and wide, but to be athletic and physical, also to cover the wide defensive areas when the wing is turned on. Basically you need a rice declan or a Bruno Guimaraes, but it does not have one.
Casemiro and Christian Eriksen no longer have the legs or resistance for the roles of the center of Amorim field
Fatally defective?
Not many Premier League managers have been able to do a return job at the top of the table.
Chelsea won the title with him with Antonio Conte, but since then only two teams have finished among the top four playing most of his games with a three butt: Chelsea Bajo Thomas Tuchel in 2021-22 and Tottenham, mainly under Conte, in the same season.
For now, the first four are the least of Amorim's concerns. It has the Europa League and the FA Cup to concentrate, as well as 14 Premier League games to avoid breaking some unwanted records.
United has only won eight games so far, but it needs nine others to overcome its minimum record of 16 for a Premier League campaign in 2021-22 under Solksjaer and Rangnick. They are only in the middle of their lowest points of 58 of the same season.
Only three more defeats are needed to match the record count last season of 14. Another 22 goals are required to overcome its lowest amount of 49 of 2015-16 under Louis Van Gaal. Another 20 goals admitted and match their record account of 58 last season.
There have been signs that the system can work. United used it well in his draw against Liverpool, since the wing picked up the right time to push and attract opposition backs to leave room for attacker midfielders to be exploited.
The Amorim side works best against the largest teams that leave space for them to counteract. They have collected strong results in Man City and Arsenal.
However, it is working properly, and if he is the man who takes United to the top after all, Amorim needs to make him work against everyone. If you do not, it will not spend much time until those same old whispers begin to echo once more.